Horbeach
Horbeach is the capital of the Kingdom of the Carmine Sea and one of the largest ports on the eastern ocean. Geography The city is located on the coast of the Elver Sound, an inlet from the Carmine Sea on the coast of Jarrland. The city was built at the northern end of the Sound, with the first port being little more than a beach where boats were laid on their sides: the beach from which the city took its name. As the city has grown it has started to spread down the western coast of the Sound, and some houses have started to be built on the eastern peninsula. History Horbeach is the ancestral hometown of the Horwik clan and was already the largest town in Jarrland before unification in 370. Before the arrival of the Salterri the Horwiks made a living as pirates and fishermen, though following the suppression of piracy the town was converted to merchant trading. Although the capital of the kingdom was initially established in the historic Jarrow town of Jarburg, the size and greater accessibility of Horbeach meant that by the late 380s much of the government already took place there. As a dowry for the marriage of Athelmere to Tempest Grant, the Jewelled Cities cooperated in building a new port facility for the town which further enhanced its prosperity (the Old Docks). During the 390s and 400s the town was radically redeveloped, with a number of stone buildings being constructed, including most notably the Sea Palace. From the 410s onwards the arrival of Woodwind architects in the city led to yet more redevelopment, with a substantial rebuilding effort being completed in the 460s. The Old Docks Also known as the Islanders' Quarter, the Old Docks are the original port facilities constructed under AQUA sponsorship during the 380s and 390s. Although many of the boardwalks and buildings have since been replaced and shored up, it is regarded as “old” compared to the new docks which extend further out into the bay and have space for larger ships, and thus is regarded in some parts as a cheaper and more run-down area. The quarter has a particularly large population of people with islander blood, the families of the construction workers who built the docks, or the descendants of exiles who settled in Jarrland during the civil war and rule of Opus Petrichor. Although the islanders are generally good-natured, they are nevertheless pirates at heart, and this area has a flourishing black market and a cheerfully cut-throat atmosphere to match. The saying in Horbeach goes that if you can't buy it in the Old Docks, you probably can't buy it. The Mia Isabella See Mia Isabella The border between the Old and New Docks is unofficially held to be at the headquarters of the Company of Maritime Venturers, nominally within the shell of the Mia Isabella (although now with several offices in surrounding buildings). The Mia Isabella was the ship Giorno Fiassa used to explore the south and in which he discovered Fiassa's Fast. The ship has been preserved in Horbeach as a monument to his memory and his spirit of adventure. The New Docks The New Docks appear much more salubrious than the Old Docks, largely because they are built on a slightly bigger scale to accommodate larger ships, which also leaves room for more works of civic art such as statuary and shrines. It is also better-policed, and the city watch pay rather more attention to their duties in this area than in the neighbouring Old Docks. An unofficial truce between the watch and the enforcement wing of the Dockers' Guild, dominant in this area, helps to maintain at least the appearance of prosperity and peace in this part of the city. The Government Quarter To the south-west of the docks is the Sea Palace, the grandest building in the city, itself now surrounded by a cluster of smaller government buildings which have begun to encroach on its gardens and grounds. This quarter is also well-provisioned with statuary, especially in the central King's Square. Marbles and bronzes both of past kings of the region and of particularly remarkable foreign friends of the kingdom are honoured here. Foreign rulers represented include Qzare Xiu Wandao, Empress Syana Ignato, King Tansan of Ashenia, and King Khyne of Glazfell. The Purple Quarter Slightly inland from and to the north of the docks, the streets give way to a huge complex of piazzas and squares, many of them covered with awnings and all of them bustling with people and replete with colour. This is the Purple Quarter, the largest dye market in the world, where both native purple and carmine dyes, and additional colours from all over the world, are traded both wholesale and for home use. At the centre of this sprawling bazaar sits the headquarters of the Company of Dyers, the grandest of all the kingdom's guildhouses and the largest building in the city save for the Sea Palace itself. The masters of the Dyers company are some of the richest men in the kingdom, and are rumoured to run a criminal enterprise stretching across the city. References Category:Cities Category:Cities of Telluris